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I gave up on NaNoWriMo, tragically it was one of my saddest efforts so far, I don't think I made it past 6,000 words. After my last post about how I lost everything... I was fixing it, and it happened again! Like I was saying, I didn't really make me lose any data but it was weird. So, I was writing in one file (the actual fic) and transferring the new portions I wrote at the end of the day into a second file (the NaNoWriMo total file) and I was doing that so basically so that if I ever got around to writing in more than one story during the month I would have a place with a master word count for the month. The problem with that was it made it easier to do the Cardinal Sin of NaNoWriMo, to edit while you write. Actually the Cardinal Sin is to stop writing all together but editing is one of the biggest no-nos.
November is for writing, writing as much as you can, getting it all down, almost string of consciousness in effect. NaNoWriMo is strictly for the word count, after November (like now) is when you go back and assess what you came up with, edit it, tighten it, rewrite it to work better, whatever you need. And I know that! I know that. But is that what I did? No, of course not.
I wasn't even realizing I was doing that, not until I had already spent two days rewriting the bit I had to copy over from the NaNoWriMo file back into the fic and it didn't fit properly (which it shouldn't have) but I knew that the fic, before I lost it, had. In other words copying it over from the NaNoWriMo file all the information/plot/scenes were there but somehow the story flow was messed up. Later I realized this is because I had been copying the newly written bit into the NaNoWriMo file before I stopped writing that night and then the next day before I started writing again I reread the bit I had done before in the fic so that I could pick up the thread, but apparently I was also editing a word or two, a sentence here and there, when I reread. FAIL.
Tragically I felt I needed to so that I knew what I was doing when I started writing the next day, just so it made sense at a starting point. The down side of that turned to out to be when I lost thousands of words from the fic and and tried to copy over from the NaNoWriMo file I lost all the of little edit here, word change there and every little bit adds up. Suddenly the story didn't make sense any more and that drove me to distraction so I had to go back and fix it, and that right there was a loss of at least two days in word count, in a month where I wasn't hitting any were near the daily total anyway. It was kind of devastating to the process.
Then there was the other problem. When I finished the edit and got to the end of the file, of course the tone had changed slightly. I'm not sure if it was due to the fact I was rushing to get back to the start line or the fact I was trying so had to match what I had written before, in words but missing the tone. Whatever caused it the end result was that when I caught up to myself I was right beginning of a very important scene.
So, full disclosure without spoilers, Duo was having a somewhat dramatic conversation with his two best friends, Hilde and Quatre (talking about Vamp!Heero(sorta) fic AKA Don't Lie) When I finished the edit I had unintentionally set a new tone and I came at the conversation from the wrong angle, the delicate balance I had been striking was off kilter. Duo came off slightly more frustrated/combative which caused Quatre's reaction to change, which Duo didn't see coming (perhaps because even I didn't see it shaking out in that fashion). Anyway, Duo had an attitude shift which Heero responded to... and then I wrote myself into a corner. Damn it.
Well, I don't want to say I wrote myself into a corner... I wasn't in a dead end, it's more like I got to the point where I realized I was standing on the wrong street corner facing a different direction. Man, I have other stuff going on in my life right now and the story was shaping into a situation similar to taming a Dog (not a Dragon mind you, not that much of a problem) I didn't want to put in the effort. So I let one day go by, where I was thinking about the problem but not trying to fix it, then one day turned into two and so on. So I'll just estimate that I didn't write anything for the last 10 days of the month. I didn't even I the word documents open for the last 5 so let me check.
Total NaNoWriMo 2012 effort: 6,004
Shameful.
Best year was 2006 (I think, it's not dated on my laptop, but on my desktop, which is in a different city) That would have been the year before my dad passed, and it's all one story and it's original writing, not fanfic. 2006 was 40,000+ words, the closest I've ever been. Next best recorded effort was 2009, I hit 14,000+ words. I apparently worked on the initial posted section of the Vamp!Heero fic (prior to it's post and there for prior to it being Vamp!Heero(sorta) or Don't Lie) though clearly something was eating my brain during the effort because I wrote a FanFic of my original story (from the 2006 effort) smack in the middle of it.
I remember my brain was being eaten and the only way I was going to be able to continue was to get it out of my head. It will never be posted, unless I ever finish the original story, get it published and wait for a fandom to develop, create another pseudonym specifically for that fandom (Cuz I would post as Apple nor would I connect my actual/author name to it) and post it as it is intended, a fanfic. That's because it genuinely the first Lemon/Sex Scene that I ever wrote. It's Slash... more specifically ChanSlash (in other words age disparity) it bondage D/S, it's DubCon and probably triggery as hell. Like I said, it ate my brain. It is very much a fanfic of my original story. It would never happen in the story, well the only way it could occur in the story is as a dream/fantasy of the older character which I would not put in the story because it's like a Young Adult audience at most and that fic... is not.
Back to the topic, clearly 2012 was my worst effort ever. Actually, I try NaNoWriMo in some effect every year, I mostly don't keep track of the effort unless I'm planning on making a serious run at, which I epically failed at this year. in theory I've had better effort that I didn't even count and I have definitely had worse efforts so... Well, I can't actually say I'll do better next year because next November I'll have a 10 month old (God willing, fingers crossed) and I have no idea what that will do to my will to write.
Anyway...
Coming up in December.
December means it's time for my end of the year craft project! Which, once again, will be a baby blanket
but this time for my own Baby.
I am now 32 weeks. My Doctor appointments have stepped it up to twice a month, (I think after my next appointment they will be weekly).
I want to apologize to anyone I'm about to piss off but I need to say it for posterity (not to brag, but just so I can remember this later) I am having they easiest pregnancy I have ever heard of. I had almost no morning sickness, any minor swelling I had in my hands an feet stopped after like 20 weeks. Back pain, which I always have is some way when I'm not pregnant, is nonexistent. I've apparently gained about 40 pounds which I CAN NOT FEEL, seriously, it's to the point where I still regularly forget I'm pregnant and get surprised my reflection or when I walk past a wall and catch my shadow. I have been blessed and I can only hope this trend continues for me and my child. (Luck doesn't usually work like this, I have understandable concerns) Any other pregnancy woes, I'm just not having them. Labor remains the big question.
I'm taking Birthing Classes, they are once a week for four weeks, I have two left. I've got a breastfeeding class coming up this week too. I've got a child care class in January, hopefully I can make it to that.
The Baby Shower is on the 15th, I still haven't sent out invitations... oops.
I'm still working 40 hour weeks.
I'm hungry.
I'm gonna go do something about that last one right now.
November is for writing, writing as much as you can, getting it all down, almost string of consciousness in effect. NaNoWriMo is strictly for the word count, after November (like now) is when you go back and assess what you came up with, edit it, tighten it, rewrite it to work better, whatever you need. And I know that! I know that. But is that what I did? No, of course not.
I wasn't even realizing I was doing that, not until I had already spent two days rewriting the bit I had to copy over from the NaNoWriMo file back into the fic and it didn't fit properly (which it shouldn't have) but I knew that the fic, before I lost it, had. In other words copying it over from the NaNoWriMo file all the information/plot/scenes were there but somehow the story flow was messed up. Later I realized this is because I had been copying the newly written bit into the NaNoWriMo file before I stopped writing that night and then the next day before I started writing again I reread the bit I had done before in the fic so that I could pick up the thread, but apparently I was also editing a word or two, a sentence here and there, when I reread. FAIL.
Tragically I felt I needed to so that I knew what I was doing when I started writing the next day, just so it made sense at a starting point. The down side of that turned to out to be when I lost thousands of words from the fic and and tried to copy over from the NaNoWriMo file I lost all the of little edit here, word change there and every little bit adds up. Suddenly the story didn't make sense any more and that drove me to distraction so I had to go back and fix it, and that right there was a loss of at least two days in word count, in a month where I wasn't hitting any were near the daily total anyway. It was kind of devastating to the process.
Then there was the other problem. When I finished the edit and got to the end of the file, of course the tone had changed slightly. I'm not sure if it was due to the fact I was rushing to get back to the start line or the fact I was trying so had to match what I had written before, in words but missing the tone. Whatever caused it the end result was that when I caught up to myself I was right beginning of a very important scene.
So, full disclosure without spoilers, Duo was having a somewhat dramatic conversation with his two best friends, Hilde and Quatre (talking about Vamp!Heero(sorta) fic AKA Don't Lie) When I finished the edit I had unintentionally set a new tone and I came at the conversation from the wrong angle, the delicate balance I had been striking was off kilter. Duo came off slightly more frustrated/combative which caused Quatre's reaction to change, which Duo didn't see coming (perhaps because even I didn't see it shaking out in that fashion). Anyway, Duo had an attitude shift which Heero responded to... and then I wrote myself into a corner. Damn it.
Well, I don't want to say I wrote myself into a corner... I wasn't in a dead end, it's more like I got to the point where I realized I was standing on the wrong street corner facing a different direction. Man, I have other stuff going on in my life right now and the story was shaping into a situation similar to taming a Dog (not a Dragon mind you, not that much of a problem) I didn't want to put in the effort. So I let one day go by, where I was thinking about the problem but not trying to fix it, then one day turned into two and so on. So I'll just estimate that I didn't write anything for the last 10 days of the month. I didn't even I the word documents open for the last 5 so let me check.
Total NaNoWriMo 2012 effort: 6,004
Shameful.
Best year was 2006 (I think, it's not dated on my laptop, but on my desktop, which is in a different city) That would have been the year before my dad passed, and it's all one story and it's original writing, not fanfic. 2006 was 40,000+ words, the closest I've ever been. Next best recorded effort was 2009, I hit 14,000+ words. I apparently worked on the initial posted section of the Vamp!Heero fic (prior to it's post and there for prior to it being Vamp!Heero(sorta) or Don't Lie) though clearly something was eating my brain during the effort because I wrote a FanFic of my original story (from the 2006 effort) smack in the middle of it.
I remember my brain was being eaten and the only way I was going to be able to continue was to get it out of my head. It will never be posted, unless I ever finish the original story, get it published and wait for a fandom to develop, create another pseudonym specifically for that fandom (Cuz I would post as Apple nor would I connect my actual/author name to it) and post it as it is intended, a fanfic. That's because it genuinely the first Lemon/Sex Scene that I ever wrote. It's Slash... more specifically ChanSlash (in other words age disparity) it bondage D/S, it's DubCon and probably triggery as hell. Like I said, it ate my brain. It is very much a fanfic of my original story. It would never happen in the story, well the only way it could occur in the story is as a dream/fantasy of the older character which I would not put in the story because it's like a Young Adult audience at most and that fic... is not.
Back to the topic, clearly 2012 was my worst effort ever. Actually, I try NaNoWriMo in some effect every year, I mostly don't keep track of the effort unless I'm planning on making a serious run at, which I epically failed at this year. in theory I've had better effort that I didn't even count and I have definitely had worse efforts so... Well, I can't actually say I'll do better next year because next November I'll have a 10 month old (God willing, fingers crossed) and I have no idea what that will do to my will to write.
Anyway...
Coming up in December.
December means it's time for my end of the year craft project! Which, once again, will be a baby blanket
but this time for my own Baby.
I am now 32 weeks. My Doctor appointments have stepped it up to twice a month, (I think after my next appointment they will be weekly).
I want to apologize to anyone I'm about to piss off but I need to say it for posterity (not to brag, but just so I can remember this later) I am having they easiest pregnancy I have ever heard of. I had almost no morning sickness, any minor swelling I had in my hands an feet stopped after like 20 weeks. Back pain, which I always have is some way when I'm not pregnant, is nonexistent. I've apparently gained about 40 pounds which I CAN NOT FEEL, seriously, it's to the point where I still regularly forget I'm pregnant and get surprised my reflection or when I walk past a wall and catch my shadow. I have been blessed and I can only hope this trend continues for me and my child. (Luck doesn't usually work like this, I have understandable concerns) Any other pregnancy woes, I'm just not having them. Labor remains the big question.
I'm taking Birthing Classes, they are once a week for four weeks, I have two left. I've got a breastfeeding class coming up this week too. I've got a child care class in January, hopefully I can make it to that.
The Baby Shower is on the 15th, I still haven't sent out invitations... oops.
I'm still working 40 hour weeks.
I'm hungry.
I'm gonna go do something about that last one right now.
